BEL bets big on electronic warfare

State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) expects to get a business of over Rs 22,500 crore from the manufacture of electronic warfare (EW) systems for the Indian armed forces in the next eight to 10 years, a senior company official said today.

In the next two years alone, the pipeline is projected to be of the order of Rs 8,000 crore for the tri service (Army, Navy and Air Force) customers, Bangalore-headquartered BEL’s Director (R & D) I V Sarma said. About Rs 4,500 crore of that sum is expected to come in the production of ‘Sangraha-II EW’ systems for the Navy and upgraded Samyukta EW systems for the Army, he said.

Till 2008-09, BEL has supplied EW systems of the order of Rs 3,500 crore, Sarma said. Officials said India totally depends on indigenous EW systems. At present, Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), Bangalore, and Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), Hyderabad, are the two DRDO laboratories engaged in the design and development of EW systems indigenously.

BEL productionises these systems, though private sector companies are also now increasing their competitiveness for orders by setting up partnerships with companies from abroad.

Meanwhile, according to a source from the DRDO, India has developed a new generation Satellite-fitted electronic intelligence system for surveillance applications to keep an eye on hostile neighbours, key defence officials said today.

The system has been developed by Hyderabad-based Defence Electronics and Research Laboratory (DLRL) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, sources said. The source termed a satellite fitted with this system as a “spy satellite”. The electronic intelligence system on board a satellite takes images of "resources" of hostile countries as it passes over them from the space, they said.

According to sources, select countries such as the US, France and China are already using such type of system. India also has now designed, integrated and tested such a system.

DRDO is already in discussion with Bangalore- headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation in this regard, and the payload to be flown in one of the low earth observation satellites is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Director of Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) U K Revankar said the DRDO lab has developed new electronic warfare system for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and it would be tested shortly.